Raid leads to drug arrests

Man deemed ‘mid-level’ dealer

May 4, 2013

WARREN - Law enforcement on Friday raided the residence of a man officials characterized as a "mid-level" drug dealer.

Lt. Jeff Orr of Trumbull-Ashtabula Group Law Enforcement Task Force said Ronndle Lightning, 35, 2517 Hamilton St. S.W., Warren, was arrested after a one-month investigation related to alleged drug trafficking out of the house he rents on the southwest side of the city.

He was charged in Warren Municipal Court on crack cocaine and heroin possession charges along with trafficking in marijuana. He was released from the Trumbull County Jail on Friday after posting an $8,500 bond.

Orr said three other men, two women and two children were at the residence.

One of the women, Tashi Johnson, 25, is facing a heroin possession charge. She was freed from the county jail on $3,500 bond.

TAG, assisted by Warren police and the Trumbull County Sheriff's Office, raided Lightning's residence about 9:30 a.m. Orr said he did not know whether Johnson also lives there.

Lightning has a long history Trumbull County Common Pleas and Warren Municipal courts dating back at least 10 years. Charges filed against him have included criminal trespass, various traffic offenses and drug possession charges. In 2008, he was sentenced to six months in prison after pleading guilty to a cocaine possession charge. In 2007, he was sentenced to 60 days in the county jail after pleading guilty to receiving stolen property.

"He's basically the typical neighborhood problem," Orr said. "We had reason to believe there was trafficking going on out of the house. We served a search warrant on the residence."